Red Bull summoned by stewards over alleged grid breach after Verstappen’s COTA win
Max Verstappen left Austin with the silverware — and Red Bull left with a summons.
In the aftermath of Verstappen’s commanding United States Grand Prix victory at Circuit of The Americas, Red Bull Racing was called to the stewards over an alleged breach of the FIA International Sporting Code relating to pre-race grid procedure.
The citation points to Article 12.2.1.i — failure to follow the instructions of officials for the safe and orderly conduct of the event. In plain terms, something about Red Bull’s actions on the grid didn’t align with what race officials had laid out. The specifics weren’t disclosed in the initial note, and Red Bull has been requested to explain its side.
These grid-related niggles are typically about equipment timing, personnel limits, or how cars are handled in the final minutes before the formation lap. Penalties for this sort of infraction tend to range from fines to reprimands, though stewards have latitude. There’s no indication at this stage that Verstappen’s victory itself is under threat.
Which would be a relief for the team after a near-perfect weekend. Verstappen strangled the pace out of COTA from Friday onward, sweeping the Sprint with pole, every lap led and the fastest lap to boot — the full set for the Saturday format — then bossing the grand prix on Sunday. Only a late flyer from Kimi Antonelli denied him the classic race-day grand chelem.
The bigger picture? Verstappen’s result cranks the volume on a championship narrative that suddenly has teeth again. He’s hauled himself into striking range in the drivers’ standings, nibbling at Oscar Piastri’s lead, with Lando Norris right there too. Up and down the paddock, the mood has shifted: this is a proper fight.
Red Bull, meanwhile, badly needed a weekend like this. The points haul drags the team back into the thick of the chase for second in the Constructors’ Championship, a scrap that’s been ebbing and flowing between the usual heavyweights. In the wider Red Bull camp, Yuki Tsunoda banked points across both the Sprint and the race to round out a productive few days for the energy drink brigade.
The summons adds a sting in the tail. Teams push the envelope in those frantic pre-start minutes — cooling rigs, starter motors, tyre warmers, the choreography of personnel and kit clearing the grid — and the officials’ line can be a fine one. If the stewards decide Red Bull did overstep, expect a procedural reprimand or financial penalty to be the most likely outcome, rather than anything that rewrites the result sheet.
None of which will dampen the impact of Verstappen’s run. His fifth win of the season came with the sort of inevitability that’s as impressive as it is deflating for everyone else. The car looked planted, the execution was crisp, and aside from that Antonelli purple lap at the death, the weekend was almost entirely tinted navy and neon.
The stewards will hear from Red Bull and publish a decision in due course. Until then, the headline from Austin is simple: Verstappen’s charge is very much on — and Red Bull’s Sunday, even with a summons attached, felt like a tone-setter for the final run-in. We’ll update this story when a ruling lands.
